STATESBORO, Ga. - Four Georgia Southern student-athletes earned Sun Belt Conference honors with today's release of the 2017 All-Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Awards. The Eagles had one first-team selection and three second-team selections, while junior Javier Carbonell was named the Newcomer of the Year and Aldair Cortes was named the Freshman of the Year.

Carbonell was also selected as the Eagles' lone first-team honoree. The Madrid, Spain, native led the Sun Belt Conference and currently ranks 11th in NCAA Division I in assists per game (0.53), with his eight total assists leading the league as well. He has also scored four goals in his debut season in Statesboro and twice this season, he earned Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors. He is the first player in Georgia Southern history to earn conference Newcomer of the Year honors.

Cortes, meanwhile, has had an outstanding debut season collegiately as the Cairo, Ga., native has started all 16 games for the Eagles, tallying three goals. A versatile player who has seen time in the midfield and at left back, two of Cortes' three goals have been game-winners for Georgia Southern this season and he was the league's Defensive Player of the Week on October 3. In addition to his Freshman of the Year honor, Cortes was also named to the All-Conference second team. He is the second Eagle to earn Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors, joining teammate Thor Sveinbjornsson (2014). 

Two other Eagles earned second-team honors, and they are both players who were picked as preseason All-Conference players by the league at the beginning of the season. Senior Blake Wilson (Tampa, Fla.) earns All-Conference honors as a forward for a second straight season, scoring six goals and ranking among the Sun Belt leaders in shots, points, goals and game-winning goals. He was also the league's Offensive Player of the Week on October 31. Junior Emil Laursen (Silkeborg, Denmark) earns All-Conference honors as a defender for a second straight season as well as he has started 13 matches in 2017, tallying one goal and earning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors just yesterday.

Click here to view the complete 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Awards release.

The Eagles open up action in the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Championships on Thursday, facing sixth-seeded Appalachian State at 4 p.m. in Conway, S.C.